Mediating role of the self-esteem and resilience in the association between social exclusion and life satisfaction among adolescents

Social exclusion is a painful experience associated with a variety of psychosocial and behavioral outcomes from childhood to adulthood. The purpose of the current study is to explore the mediation role of resilience and self-esteem in the relationship between social exclusion and life satisfaction in high school adolescents. The sample comprised 1172 students enrolling in grades of 9-12 in four public schools in an urban city of Turkey. Of the 52.7% participants were female and 47.3% of them were male with ages ranged between 14 and 19 years (M = 15.91, SD = 1.25). Results of the analyses showed negative and significant relationships between social exclusion and life satisfaction, self-esteem and resilience. Moreover, there were positive and significant relationships between resilience, life satisfaction and self-esteem. Findings of structural equation model revealed that social exclusion directly predicted resilience and self-esteem. Social exclusion predicted life satisfaction by the mediation of resilience and self-esteem. These outcomes indicated that resilience and self-esteem mediated the relationship between social exclusion and life satisfaction in adolescents.